J.S. Johnston

“Shotgun” by J.S. Johnston

It was on the second night that I met him. On a lonely stretch of highway, just like they said it would be. I hadn't seen another pair of headlights for miles. There was nothing but blackness, except for what my headlights showed me, in front of or behind me. And then there he was, in the middle of nothing, on the side of the road. The scenery had been blank for so long that I thought I’d imagined him when he fell into ...

2 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Cursed” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #93

           I want that woman locked up. She is a menace and she’s ruined my life. The sign in front read Mrs. Lovett, but you can bet that’s probably not her real name. She’s the reason I’m in here, telling this stupid story for the millionth time. I don’t know why people keep asking me to retell it just to call me a liar. I swear to you, it’s the truth. It was that damn Lovett woman. She should be in here, not me. <...

13 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Absence of Light” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #92

I get so tired of telling the story. People love to ask, but they’ve already decided that I made it all up before I even start talking. I get where they’re coming from. It does sound unbelievable. I’m not sure I would buy it, if someone else told it to me, to be honest. I just get tired of telling the story, only to be told that I’m crazy. You understand.           The first thing people always tell me is, “Maybe it’s just the stress of a new house.” Like I didn’t t...

16 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Checking Out” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #91

“You can’t make me go,” pleaded Jerry, holding on to the reading table of the Northwest Library. “You can’t. You don’t understand. It’s after sunset. It’ll get me.” “We need to close up now, Jerry,” said Sandra, the head librarian with no time for more of his foolishness. “Nothing is going to get you. You’ve been reading too much from that book.” “No, that’s not it. I don’t think it’s s...

14 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Long Dark” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #90

He could kill everyone on this train. He’s strong enough. The old man in the row over, reading a paper. The tween girls in the row behind him, chattering to each other. They’re nothing to him. All it would take would be a word from his festering mouth and they would all crumble into dust. But, as long as he stays trapped in this box, everything will be fine. It’s carved out of a single piece of ash wood. Curses and spells are scratched on the inside. A threefold cord is wrapped around the outside. The sign on the back of the seat in front...

19 likes 9 comments 9

Read story

“Radioactive” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #86

           It all felt wrong. I don’t mean just the lethal levels of radioactivity that lingered in the plant. I mean everything about it felt like the old gods that inhabit this place were warning us to leave. Maybe it was seeing the exposed twisted metal that seemed to invade the confined spaces, like the building itself was trying to reach out and grab us. Or how light beamed in from the outside, illuminating carnage ...

18 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“5 Days” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city. You'd have to be a psychopath not to need the blur of drugs or booze to censor reality. Ever since I stopped drinking, it's like some guy painted every glob of grease and every smear of grime in this whole damn town with neon colors. Does everyone know what it's really like? If they do, how can they fall asleep at night with anything close to a safe, cozy feeling?        ...

28 likes 7 comments 7

Read story

“The Monster in My Basement” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #84

It’s Tuesday. It must be Tuesday. It has to be. I’ve been down here, hiding from her for… How long has it been? Five, six… For months, now. If she finds me, she’ll kill me. She’s starving. Her teeth are as sharp as any Doberman’s. Her claws can tear flesh from bone. I have to keep hiding if I want to outlast her. I can. Every day, I come to this room and make a mark on the wall, right here. At least, I...

23 likes 17 comments 17

Read story

“Mira” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #83

             I thought I dreamed seeing her. She walked barefoot out of the river. The pale light of the full moon outlined her glistening nude form. Her wet hair, black as coal, hung down her back in tight curls. Eyes of sapphire looked down onto what would soon be my corpse. She knelt down by my side and touched the bleeding wound with her thin, delicate fingers. Each one was as thin as the grass that grows between the...

14 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“On The Lamb” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #80

"For those of you just joining us, NASA officials report what they believe to be several spacecraft on a course to Earth. They also report not to have had any previous warning or communication with any society outside of our own planet up until now. Originally discovered by amateur astronomers entering the solar system from South of the orbital plane, shown here in this diagram, they made a course correction near Jupiter...

9 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Blood In The Alley” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #78

  “I always said you had to watch out for the women who go out alone, Socrates,” I said to my pet owl. He sat on the table in front of me with his impossibly soft brown and white feathers. His giant yellow eyes and wide face always made him look like he was listening intently to whatever I was saying, even if he was really just thinking that he'd love to nibble on a lock of hair. That's why I loved talking to him.   "You're right. I know. But it is a good general rule to follow. What happened?...

10 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Dead Cold” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #77

The plaque to the right of the door read “Genetic Research”. The pair stood in front of it like they were expected to answer a riddle for it to open, like in fantasy stories. “Are you sure this is okay?” asked Marty. “By okay, are you asking if we're allowed? Even after we disabled the cameras and are now currently engaged in the picking of the lock that prevents us the entrance that we so...

11 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Familiar Wanted” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #72

Dear Ms. Bronson,I'm “Mrs. Lovette” of Mrs. Lovette's Witchcraft and Fortune Telling. You may have seen my sign, in front of the house with the red door, driving down Spring Street. I've been waiting for you to open an account with jobLinks. It's good to see that you finally opened an account. I'd like to offer you a position as a familiar in my small business. So far, there's only one employee, myself. I've been getting a lot busier, with the latest shenanigans in the world. So, I'm looking for a helper with day-to-day ...

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The House That Rosa Built” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #71

"A cup of sugar and two sticks of butter." Said a woozy Joe "The honey badger" Rodriguez. He sat on his stool in his corner of the ring, but didn't know it. His head swam in a sea that didn't exist. Three thousand people paid a full month's rent in order to pack into the Eastern Colosseum to see him fight Richard "Two Fists" Johnson. "What're you talkin' 'bout?" Asked his manager, Carl, in a voice that ...

9 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Rock Bridge Werewolf” by J.S. Johnston

Submitted to Contest #70

James collapsed on the side of a tree. Its rough bark clawed the skin off of his forearm, when he tried to brace himself with it as he fell. His sides were solid pain and his legs had turned to warm liquid. His lungs fought to regain the precious air that kept James alive. He'd run farther than his weak human body was capable of and still the werewolf effortlessly chased him through the forest. James tr...

13 likes 6 comments 6

Read story